Jennifer Jones
I am currently a Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Central Lancashire where I undertake active research and teaching in archaeological science. I am particularly interested in exploring the complex interactions between humans, animals and the environments that they lived in using biomolecular techniques.
Between 2019-2020 I was a Postdoctoral Researcher in the EVOADAPTA research group at the International Institute for Prehistoric Research in Cantabria (IIIPC) at the University of Cantabria where I held a prestigious Juan de la Cierva-incorporación grant.
Between 2018-2019 I was a lecturer in Archaeological Science at the University of Aberdeen, where I am course coordinator for several undergraduate and masters courses in addition to lecturing on a variety of topics related to archaeological science and prehistory. For the Academic year 2017/2018 I was a Teaching Fellow in Archaeological Science at the Department of Archaeology, University of Aberdeen,
Between 2015-2017 I was a Marie Skłodowska Curie Reserch Fellow at the IIIPC, University of Cantabria as PI of the CLIMAPROX project characterising human responses to environmental and climatic change from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Mesolithic in Northern Spain using a multi proxy isotopic approach.
I was also part of the 'EUROREFUGIA' project working with Ana Belen Marin Arroyo (IIIPC), Mike Richards (University of British Columbia), and Rhiannon Stevens (UCL) entitled 'Paleoenvironmental reconstruction during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in European refugia'. This research uses isotopic analysis in combination with environmental proxies and zooarchaeological evidence to enhance understanding of Neanderthal and Modern Human interactions.
I am an experienced zooarchaeologist and have recently undertaken projects working with Palaeolithic microfaunal remains form South Wales with the National Museum of Wales, in addition to macrofauna projects in Turkey (Catalhoyuk, Kilise Tepe), Jordan (Kharaneh IV) and in the UK.
PhD Research
My PhD (supervised by Jacqui Mulville) was part of a bigger NERC funded project with Prof. Richard Evershed and Dr. Lucy Cramp (Bristol University) investigating marine resource use in the Scottish Atlantic Islands.My thesis explored changes in dietary and economic behaviour through time in the North Atlantic Islands of Scotland, from the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition through to the Norse period. Traditional zooarchaeological techniques are used alongside human and faunal stable isotope analysis to explore past diet of humans and animals. A suite of 622 faunal isotopic values were generated to characterise animal diets, past husbandry strategies, to provide a baseline to interpret human values, and to understand temporal and geographical variations in isotopic values. The challenges of integrating these two different datasets and methodologies for enhancing interpretations of these lines of evidence were also explored.
Outreach
I am very interested in community engagement regularly take part in designing, implementing and delivering outreach activities to engage the general public with archaeological projects. at a variety of different locations, ranging from formal school visits and lab open days to activities at Music Festivals (including the Green Man and Wilderness festivals).
Between 2019-2020 I was a Postdoctoral Researcher in the EVOADAPTA research group at the International Institute for Prehistoric Research in Cantabria (IIIPC) at the University of Cantabria where I held a prestigious Juan de la Cierva-incorporación grant.
Between 2018-2019 I was a lecturer in Archaeological Science at the University of Aberdeen, where I am course coordinator for several undergraduate and masters courses in addition to lecturing on a variety of topics related to archaeological science and prehistory. For the Academic year 2017/2018 I was a Teaching Fellow in Archaeological Science at the Department of Archaeology, University of Aberdeen,
Between 2015-2017 I was a Marie Skłodowska Curie Reserch Fellow at the IIIPC, University of Cantabria as PI of the CLIMAPROX project characterising human responses to environmental and climatic change from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Mesolithic in Northern Spain using a multi proxy isotopic approach.
I was also part of the 'EUROREFUGIA' project working with Ana Belen Marin Arroyo (IIIPC), Mike Richards (University of British Columbia), and Rhiannon Stevens (UCL) entitled 'Paleoenvironmental reconstruction during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in European refugia'. This research uses isotopic analysis in combination with environmental proxies and zooarchaeological evidence to enhance understanding of Neanderthal and Modern Human interactions.
I am an experienced zooarchaeologist and have recently undertaken projects working with Palaeolithic microfaunal remains form South Wales with the National Museum of Wales, in addition to macrofauna projects in Turkey (Catalhoyuk, Kilise Tepe), Jordan (Kharaneh IV) and in the UK.
PhD Research
My PhD (supervised by Jacqui Mulville) was part of a bigger NERC funded project with Prof. Richard Evershed and Dr. Lucy Cramp (Bristol University) investigating marine resource use in the Scottish Atlantic Islands.My thesis explored changes in dietary and economic behaviour through time in the North Atlantic Islands of Scotland, from the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition through to the Norse period. Traditional zooarchaeological techniques are used alongside human and faunal stable isotope analysis to explore past diet of humans and animals. A suite of 622 faunal isotopic values were generated to characterise animal diets, past husbandry strategies, to provide a baseline to interpret human values, and to understand temporal and geographical variations in isotopic values. The challenges of integrating these two different datasets and methodologies for enhancing interpretations of these lines of evidence were also explored.
Outreach
I am very interested in community engagement regularly take part in designing, implementing and delivering outreach activities to engage the general public with archaeological projects. at a variety of different locations, ranging from formal school visits and lab open days to activities at Music Festivals (including the Green Man and Wilderness festivals).
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Papers by Jennifer Jones
The use of caves during the Late Middle and Early Upper Palaeolithic in Europe was often characterized by alternation between humans (Neandertals and Anatomically Modern Humans) and carnivores. One of the most important karstic areas in Europe that contains a rich archaeological record during this cultural period is the Cantabrian Region, northern Spain. We explore the archaeological evidence recovered from the lower levels of the stratigraphic sequence in El Mirón Cave dated between 27 and 48ka cal BP – Gravettian and Mousterian in age. Zooarchaeological and taphonomic analyses of the limited number of mammal bones, together with the small lithic artefact assemblages, suggest brief human occupations after which the carcass remains left by humans and, composed mainly of Spanish ibex, red deer and some leporids, were scavenged by carnivores. Carnivores were probably also agents of accumulation, especially in the two lowest layers in which artifacts are most scarce. Notable palaeontological finds include remains of mammoth and leopard. Stable isotopic analyses of Spanish ibex remains provide information of relatively open landscape and suggest that cooler conditions prevailed during the Early Upper Palaeolithic. The results of this research offer an insight on the type of cave use by humans and carnivores during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic and a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction at the time late Neanderthals and early anatomically modern humans inhabited in the Cantabrian region.
This work focuses on reconstructing past diets and animal management during Prehistory in Central Northern Spain, spanning the NE area of the Old Castilian Plateau to the Cantabrian coast, from c. 3000–1500 BCE. During this time, early farming communities made changes in their models of production and social reproduction that crystallised in the emergence of social complexity. To investigate these changes, we reconstructed the past diet of these early farming populations by using stable isotope analysis (δ13C, δ15N, δ34S) of human and animal remains from the recently excavated sites of Abrigo de la Castañera in Cantabria and Arroyal I, El Hornazo, Fuente Celada and Ferrocarril-La Dehesa in Burgos. The human remains derived from a range of burial contexts including pit graves, megalithic monuments and burial caves. To provide initial insights into animal management during this timeframe, associated faunal remains were also studied as a baseline. In total, 52 samples were analysed, including 17 human burials and 35 animal specimens (cattle, sheep, pig, red deer and dog). Results show that humans in these sites consumed relatively similar diets, comprising of a predominantly C3 diet including animal protein. Animal management patterns indicate a wider use of the landscape for herbivore grazing. The differing diets of dogs at El Hornazo provide insights into the relationship that they had with humans and tentatively suggests differences in the diet of working animals versus household pets. The δ34S values of two individuals from Arroyal I indicate that they came from different regions, implying a level of inland mobility during the Chalcolithic.
Environmental change has been proposed as a factor that contributed to the extinction of the Neanderthals in Europe during MIS3. Currently, the different local environmental conditions experienced at the time when Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) met Neanderthals are not well known. In the Western Pyrenees, particularly, in the eastern end of the Cantabrian coast of the Iberian Peninsula, extensive evidence of Neanderthal and subsequent AMH activity exists, making it an ideal area in which to explore the palaeoenvironments experienced and resources exploited by both human species during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition. Red deer and horse were analysed using bone collagen stable isotope analysis to reconstruct environmental conditions across the transition. A shift in the ecological niche of horses after the Mousterian demonstrates a change in environment, towards more open vegetation, linked to wider climatic change. In the Mousterian, Aurignacian and Gravettian, high inter-individual nitrogen ranges were observed in both herbivores. This could indicate that these individuals were procured from areas isotopically different in nitrogen. Differences in sulphur values between sites suggest some variability in the hunting locations exploited, reflecting the human use of different parts of the landscape. An alternative and complementary explanation proposed is that there were climatic fluctuations within the time of formation of these archaeological levels, as observed in pollen, marine and ice cores.
these different scenarios has proved problematic due to poor faunal preservation and the lack of specificity achievable for commonly applied proxies. Here, we present new multi-proxy evidence, which qualitatively and quantitatively maps subsistence change in the northeast Atlantic archipelagos from the Late Mesolithic into the Neolithic and beyond. A model involving significant retention of hunter–gatherer–fisher influences was
tested against one of the dominant adoptions of farming using a novel
suite of lipid biomarkers, including dihydroxy fatty acids, v-(o-alkylphenyl)-alkanoic acids and stable carbon isotope signatures of individual fatty acids preserved in cooking vessels. These new findings, together with archaeozoological and human skeletal collagen bulk stable carbon isotope proxies, unequivocally confirm rejection of marine resources by early farmers coinciding with the adoption of intensive dairy farming. This pattern of Neolithization contrasts markedly to that occurring contemporaneously in the Baltic, suggesting that geographically distinct ecological and cultural influences dictated the evolution of subsistence practices at this critical phase of European prehistory.
Carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) analysis has been extensively used to investigate the importance of marine foods in the diet of archaeological populations in the North Atlantic Islands; however, few faunal studies exist to aid the interpretation of results. Palaeoenvironmental modelling of δ13C and δ15N values is crucial in determining whether changes in the stable isotope values are a result of dietary change, rather than temporal or geographical fluctuations in carbon and nitrogen. Investigating faunal dietary behaviour can provide an insight into past foddering and land management strategies.
METHODS
Detailed sampling of wild and domestic species for bulk collagen analysis was undertaken in order to characterise geographical variations in δ13C and δ15N values in the Outer Hebrides and Orkney. Samples from the Neolithic to the Norse period were analysed to assess temporal and geographical variations in δ13C and δ15N values, in addition to determining the contribution of marine foods to the diet of local fauna.
RESULTS
A δ15N shift of 1‰ was observed between the Outer Hebrides and Orkney in the Neolithic and Iron Age. A geographical variation in δ13C values was observed in the Norse period between Orkney and the Outer Hebrides. Temporal fluctuations in δ13C and δ15N values demonstrate variations in foddering practices of sheep in the Outer Hebrides. Pig specimens from the Outer Hebrides demonstrated evidence of marine food consumption in the Iron Age.
CONCLUSIONS
Faunal dietary behaviour can act as a vital indicator of the importance of marine resources in the past. Characterisation of faunal δ13C and δ15N values geographically and temporally is crucial in our interpretation of human dietary behaviour. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd."
Books by Jennifer Jones
Post by Jennifer Jones
Alongside traditional zooarchaeological analyses, which forms the foundation for any investigation of fauna in the past, there is a vast suite of bioarchaeological methods providing additional complementary datasets. Such approaches include; Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS), bulk collagen isotopic analysis, incremental analysis of teeth, aDNA, geometric morphometrics, and behavioural modelling. Integrating these different approaches allows us to answer specific questions about the lives, behaviours, and uses of animals in the past, and the humans that exploited them.
This session welcomes contributions from researchers working in different geographical regions and chronological settings using an array of analytical approaches towards studying faunal exploitation and palaeoecologies in the past. We particularly welcome submissions from researchers that employ multiple different methodologies, and that integrate zooarchaeological, biomolecular, and environmental archaeological approaches towards reconstructing past environments, animal behaviours and hunting strategies during the Pleistocene.
The use of caves during the Late Middle and Early Upper Palaeolithic in Europe was often characterized by alternation between humans (Neandertals and Anatomically Modern Humans) and carnivores. One of the most important karstic areas in Europe that contains a rich archaeological record during this cultural period is the Cantabrian Region, northern Spain. We explore the archaeological evidence recovered from the lower levels of the stratigraphic sequence in El Mirón Cave dated between 27 and 48ka cal BP – Gravettian and Mousterian in age. Zooarchaeological and taphonomic analyses of the limited number of mammal bones, together with the small lithic artefact assemblages, suggest brief human occupations after which the carcass remains left by humans and, composed mainly of Spanish ibex, red deer and some leporids, were scavenged by carnivores. Carnivores were probably also agents of accumulation, especially in the two lowest layers in which artifacts are most scarce. Notable palaeontological finds include remains of mammoth and leopard. Stable isotopic analyses of Spanish ibex remains provide information of relatively open landscape and suggest that cooler conditions prevailed during the Early Upper Palaeolithic. The results of this research offer an insight on the type of cave use by humans and carnivores during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic and a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction at the time late Neanderthals and early anatomically modern humans inhabited in the Cantabrian region.
This work focuses on reconstructing past diets and animal management during Prehistory in Central Northern Spain, spanning the NE area of the Old Castilian Plateau to the Cantabrian coast, from c. 3000–1500 BCE. During this time, early farming communities made changes in their models of production and social reproduction that crystallised in the emergence of social complexity. To investigate these changes, we reconstructed the past diet of these early farming populations by using stable isotope analysis (δ13C, δ15N, δ34S) of human and animal remains from the recently excavated sites of Abrigo de la Castañera in Cantabria and Arroyal I, El Hornazo, Fuente Celada and Ferrocarril-La Dehesa in Burgos. The human remains derived from a range of burial contexts including pit graves, megalithic monuments and burial caves. To provide initial insights into animal management during this timeframe, associated faunal remains were also studied as a baseline. In total, 52 samples were analysed, including 17 human burials and 35 animal specimens (cattle, sheep, pig, red deer and dog). Results show that humans in these sites consumed relatively similar diets, comprising of a predominantly C3 diet including animal protein. Animal management patterns indicate a wider use of the landscape for herbivore grazing. The differing diets of dogs at El Hornazo provide insights into the relationship that they had with humans and tentatively suggests differences in the diet of working animals versus household pets. The δ34S values of two individuals from Arroyal I indicate that they came from different regions, implying a level of inland mobility during the Chalcolithic.
Environmental change has been proposed as a factor that contributed to the extinction of the Neanderthals in Europe during MIS3. Currently, the different local environmental conditions experienced at the time when Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) met Neanderthals are not well known. In the Western Pyrenees, particularly, in the eastern end of the Cantabrian coast of the Iberian Peninsula, extensive evidence of Neanderthal and subsequent AMH activity exists, making it an ideal area in which to explore the palaeoenvironments experienced and resources exploited by both human species during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition. Red deer and horse were analysed using bone collagen stable isotope analysis to reconstruct environmental conditions across the transition. A shift in the ecological niche of horses after the Mousterian demonstrates a change in environment, towards more open vegetation, linked to wider climatic change. In the Mousterian, Aurignacian and Gravettian, high inter-individual nitrogen ranges were observed in both herbivores. This could indicate that these individuals were procured from areas isotopically different in nitrogen. Differences in sulphur values between sites suggest some variability in the hunting locations exploited, reflecting the human use of different parts of the landscape. An alternative and complementary explanation proposed is that there were climatic fluctuations within the time of formation of these archaeological levels, as observed in pollen, marine and ice cores.
these different scenarios has proved problematic due to poor faunal preservation and the lack of specificity achievable for commonly applied proxies. Here, we present new multi-proxy evidence, which qualitatively and quantitatively maps subsistence change in the northeast Atlantic archipelagos from the Late Mesolithic into the Neolithic and beyond. A model involving significant retention of hunter–gatherer–fisher influences was
tested against one of the dominant adoptions of farming using a novel
suite of lipid biomarkers, including dihydroxy fatty acids, v-(o-alkylphenyl)-alkanoic acids and stable carbon isotope signatures of individual fatty acids preserved in cooking vessels. These new findings, together with archaeozoological and human skeletal collagen bulk stable carbon isotope proxies, unequivocally confirm rejection of marine resources by early farmers coinciding with the adoption of intensive dairy farming. This pattern of Neolithization contrasts markedly to that occurring contemporaneously in the Baltic, suggesting that geographically distinct ecological and cultural influences dictated the evolution of subsistence practices at this critical phase of European prehistory.
Carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) analysis has been extensively used to investigate the importance of marine foods in the diet of archaeological populations in the North Atlantic Islands; however, few faunal studies exist to aid the interpretation of results. Palaeoenvironmental modelling of δ13C and δ15N values is crucial in determining whether changes in the stable isotope values are a result of dietary change, rather than temporal or geographical fluctuations in carbon and nitrogen. Investigating faunal dietary behaviour can provide an insight into past foddering and land management strategies.
METHODS
Detailed sampling of wild and domestic species for bulk collagen analysis was undertaken in order to characterise geographical variations in δ13C and δ15N values in the Outer Hebrides and Orkney. Samples from the Neolithic to the Norse period were analysed to assess temporal and geographical variations in δ13C and δ15N values, in addition to determining the contribution of marine foods to the diet of local fauna.
RESULTS
A δ15N shift of 1‰ was observed between the Outer Hebrides and Orkney in the Neolithic and Iron Age. A geographical variation in δ13C values was observed in the Norse period between Orkney and the Outer Hebrides. Temporal fluctuations in δ13C and δ15N values demonstrate variations in foddering practices of sheep in the Outer Hebrides. Pig specimens from the Outer Hebrides demonstrated evidence of marine food consumption in the Iron Age.
CONCLUSIONS
Faunal dietary behaviour can act as a vital indicator of the importance of marine resources in the past. Characterisation of faunal δ13C and δ15N values geographically and temporally is crucial in our interpretation of human dietary behaviour. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd."
Alongside traditional zooarchaeological analyses, which forms the foundation for any investigation of fauna in the past, there is a vast suite of bioarchaeological methods providing additional complementary datasets. Such approaches include; Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS), bulk collagen isotopic analysis, incremental analysis of teeth, aDNA, geometric morphometrics, and behavioural modelling. Integrating these different approaches allows us to answer specific questions about the lives, behaviours, and uses of animals in the past, and the humans that exploited them.
This session welcomes contributions from researchers working in different geographical regions and chronological settings using an array of analytical approaches towards studying faunal exploitation and palaeoecologies in the past. We particularly welcome submissions from researchers that employ multiple different methodologies, and that integrate zooarchaeological, biomolecular, and environmental archaeological approaches towards reconstructing past environments, animal behaviours and hunting strategies during the Pleistocene.
This session seeks to explore new micro- and macro- scale approaches towards reconstructing palaeoenvironments, palaeoclimates, and faunal palaeoecologies to answer key questions related to the impact of palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic changes on past human and animal populations.